


Right There Where You Left It

by theoncomingwolf



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Spoilers for Obsidian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoncomingwolf/pseuds/theoncomingwolf
Summary: When a deal with Death gives Bonnie the chance to temporarily reunite Marceline with her mom, she takes it, but is one day really enough?And is anything ever so simple in their lives?Post-Obsidian.
Relationships: Princess Bubblegum/Marceline
Comments: 52
Kudos: 217





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the structure of this written already, and I think it should be anywhere from 2-4 chapters. Estimating 3 for now.
> 
> I loved Obsidian soooo much. Perfect special.

Bonnibel Bubblegum, alone in her lab in the candy kingdom, sits crouched over a complicated string of equations, willing the solution to come to her at last so she can pack up and join Marceline at home. She’s getting sleepy here, in this dark room, with the gentle rumble of stormclouds rolling past outside.

It’s the perfect night to cuddle on the couch with her girlfriend, but she just... can’t get up yet. She’s so close...

A flash of lightning illuminates the room suddenly, and Bonnibel jumps, not at the light flooding over her workspace, but at the place where it doesn’t. A distinctly humanoid shadow washes briefly over her, running over her notes and a little up the wall.

“Princess Bubblegum,” a voice growls from the dark, the sound punctuated by a crack of thunder. 

Bonnibel stands, spinning to face her adversary. 

A grinning equine face greets her, red pulsing from his hollow eyes.

No.

Not yet. 

She’s not ready.

Her chair clatters to the floor as Bonnibel steps backwards into her desk, reaching slowly into her pocket for the contingency plan she keeps on her in the case of this very moment.

“Hey, hey listen I wanna talk about Peps,” Death says, holding two bony hands palm-out in front of her.

Bonnibel freezes.

“Oh,” she says, “I’m not dying?”

“No, no,” Death laughs, “Yeah, I should have led with that.”

Bonnibel tries to nonchalantly release the small device clutched in her fingers back into her pocket, hoping he does not notice. She picks the chair up off the floor as casually as she can and sits into it, crossing her hands politely over her lap.

“Yes?”

“I want my dude back.”

“He’s around here somewhere,” Bonnibel tells him, “want me to get him?”

“Nah, nah I mean he’s still like, adolescent right?” Death shakes his head, “I’m good on waiting until he’s grown again, I guess, but _when_ is that gonna be?”

“Well, I think the best way to get Peppermint Butler back closest to who we knew before is naturally, over time-”

“I want my dude, Princess.”

“Hm.”

“It’s been like 25 years already, what gives?”

“Well, I had always set up Pep’s development to take a while. I thought it would make him more mature in the long run.” Bonnibel explains, “Plus, he’s so dang cute when he’s young.”

“Okay, okay,” Death says, “how about we make a trade? People always want things from me.”

  
“Oh?”  
  


“Nothing big. I ain’t bringing anyone back from the dead or anything,” Death says, “but you give Peppermint Butler a little more candy mass, or whatever, and maybe you can pop by my place sometime. Anyone you want to see there?”

Bonnibel thinks.

Barring crazy zombie incidents, candy people live and die by her hand, so she doesn’t need anything from him there. Finn and Jake are still alive, for now, and the only other person she cared enough for to want to see after death was Shoko... but as Shoko is a past life of Finn’s, she’s not totally sure how that would work out.

Her mind drifts to Marceline, as it does after any length of time.

“I... may have someone in mind.”

  
  


\---

  
  


“Marceline, wake up!” Bonnibel rolls over in bed, dropping her elbows on either side of her girlfriend, “We can’t be late.”

Marceline’s face twitches sleepily. When she finally cracks open an eye, her pupil narrows into a slit against the bright lights Bonnie turned on in the room.

“Where’re we goin’?” she mumbles, blinking slowly until her eyes look more human.

“Surprise,” Bonnibel says, again.

“Come on...”

“You’ll love it,” Bonnibel says, then, nervously, “I... hope.”

“Fine, alright,” Marceline, “Only because you seem so excited about it.”

Excited is one word for it, Bonnibel thinks. She hardly slept last night.

“Okay, wear... something you’d be okay having your picture taken in,” Bonnibel advises, “something you like to wear, but also something nice.”

She rolls off of Marceline as she speaks, pulling open the closet and sifting through her hung shirts. She wants to make a good first impression herself. Bonnibel considers her purple dress, which she wore to dinner with the Ice King after she and Marceline started dating again, but decides against it. Instead, she picks out a nice purple blouse and some dark dress pants.

“Uhh,” Marceline takes out a rock shirt with a fun design, “something like this?”

Bonnibel shakes her head.

Marceline puts it back, pulling out a flannel dress shirt, before placing it down with a huff, at the look on her girlfriend’s face.

“Why don’t you just choose what I wear.”

“No, no... I’d really like you to pick. Just... pick something a little bit dressy.”

“Like a dress?”

“Only if you want to.”

“Hmm...” Marceline reaches back in, showing off a pair of high-waisted jeans and a grey t-shirt, folding both over her arm before adding a red blazer on top.

“Perfect.” Bonnibel smiles, “You’d be happy to have your pic taken in this?”

“Yeah, it’s cute I guess.”

“Alright! Get dressed and let’s go.”

They change quickly, and Bonnie grabs a backpack, pre-packed with red candies, a tablet loaded with photos, a camera, and Marceline’s old childhood guitar. Marceline eyes the bag curiously, but does not ask what’s inside.

“Okay,” Bonnibel says, “Close your eyes until I tell you.”

She stares into the corner of the room, crossing her eyes, hoping this works without both parties. The portal opens, much quicker than usual, and Death stands before her, arms crossed. 

Bonnibel flashes him a thumbs up, pushing Marceline inside.

“Did we just enter a portal?”

“Shh...”

Bonnibel looks around appreciatively. Contrary to the normal creepy atmosphere of the Deathworld, they’ve arrived before a cute green-colored house, sitting below a cliff. She knew that the demon and the dead sections were pretty different from one another, but she’d only had the chance to visit the former in the past.

Death opens another portal, slipping out of sight, and Bonnibel pats her girlfriend playfully on the butt.

“We’re here.”

Marceline opens her eyes, cocking her head at the cute little house before them.

“Okay?”

“Go on then.”

“Are we house shopping...?” she mumbles.

Marceline looks suspicious, but does as she’s told, walking hesitantly up the short steps and knocking on the door. Bonnibel hangs back.

After a moment, a curtain moves at the window. Bonnibel catches a flash of a person before the door is thrown open wide.

Marceline’s mother is a pretty young woman with dark brown skin and short, messy hair. She’s dressed plainly in a nice blue shirt and dark jeans. Bonnibel slips her camera from her bag, taking a picture.

Marceline stands rooted in place, shoulders raising in shock.

Elise gapes at her daughter, standing dumbfounded on her step. 

Both registering the shock on each other’s face, neither makes a move for a good moment. Finally, Elise throws herself at Marceline, arms looping around her neck as she buries her face into her shoulder. Marceline catches her around the waist, spinning her around in a hug. 

She meets Bonnibel’s eyes, her own still wide and disbelieving.

“Oh, Marceline,” Elise says, squeezing her daughter tight, voice choked with tears.

“Mom...” Marceline breathes.

“It is so good to see you.”

She pulls away, lifting both hands to take Marceline’s face gently.

“You too, Mom...”

Elise follows her daughter’s wandering gaze to Bonnibel, still hanging a ways back from the door.

“Is she with you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Marceline says, “Yeah, Mom, this is Bonnie.”

“Hi,” Bonnibel calls, smiling.

“Would you like to come in?”

“Okay,” Marceline says, threading her fingers into her hair and pushing it self-consciously over the scar on her neck. 

Elise steps slowly inside, palm against her door, already wide open. 

Marceline waits on the step until Bonnibel makes her way over to pull her inside.

“This is a very lovely home,” Bonnibel greets, politely, setting her bag down and sitting where she is pointed, on a plush, chocolate-brown couch. Marceline sits heavily next to her.

“Thank you...”

Bonnibel thinks they should get a couch as comfy as this at home. She decides that is not the right thing to say to break this silence, and waits patiently for the two of them to work it out.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Elise whispers, sitting on the coffee table. 

Bonnie leans all the way back into the couch, turning her head away, feeling like she’s intruding.

“Me too.”

Bonnibel runs her fingers over the grooves in the material.

“I wondered what had happened to you...” Elise bites her lip, “Did you end up with your dad?”

“Yeah, for a bit...”

Pressing her nail into the couch and slowly dragging it backwards, Bonnibel focuses on the soft ‘thwip, thwip, thwip’, barely audible over their conversation.

“Oh,” she says, “I tried looking for you here, but... well, I guess he rules some form of afterlife too, so it makes sense that you’d go there instead...”

“Huh?” Marceline shakes her head, “No Mom, I’m not dead.”

“What?”

“No, no,” she says, then pauses, thinking, “well, I guess I probably will end up in the Nightosphere when I die...”

“You’re still alive?”

“Yeah,” Marceline says, “Bonnie too.”

“We’re just visiting,” Bonnibel says, looking up, “for one day.”

“Yeah I-” she turns to face her girlfriend, “How are we visiting?”

“Death asked me for a favor,” Bonnibel says simply, then assures them, “nothing immoral.”

Marceline gives her those wide, soft eyes she loves so much, and Bonnibel smiles.

“Oh. Death asked-” Elise trails off.

“I guess that’s a bit different than you’re used to,” Bonnibel says apologetically, “have you interacted with any non-humans in Deathworld?”

Elise shakes her head, chuckling, “No, but I went out with a demon once while I was alive. And we saw some of the weird creatures after the war, before I died... so this isn’t _too_ bizarre.”

“Don’t call Bonnie weird,” Marceline says, defensively.

“I- No, no I wasn’t...” Elise says, looking between them, “I’m so sorry.”

“That’s alright,” Bonnibel says, “You would have been unusual to me, once. I didn’t meet humans- the _original_ variant, anyway- for a very long time.”

Marceline looks tense. Bonnie hopes this wasn’t a mistake. Maybe this is one of those things where a surprise is worse.

“Bonnie...” Elise says, “Thank you _so much_ for using your favor for this. It is very nice to meet you. My name is Elise... how do you know my daughter?”

“She’s my girlfriend,” Marceline introduces.

Bonnie takes her hand, willing her to relax. She remembers how much Marceline wanted their dinner with the Ice King to go well, and he wasn’t even Simon, not really. Having her mother here in front of her for the first time in a thousand years, having only just realized in the past decade she wasn’t abandoned by her, it’s got to be a lot.

“That’s wonderful,” Elise says, smiling warmly, “can I get you girls some tea?”

“I’m sure I can figure it out,” Bonnibel says, standing, “I’ll let you two catch up.”

“Let me give you a hand,” Marceline offers, taking her wrist.

“She wants to speak to you alone,” Elise whispers.

  
“Not very subtly.” Bonnibel agrees.

“No, I-”

“It’s okay, baby,” Elise says, “ _I’ll_ put on the water and leave you two here a moment.”

She excuses herself.

The moment her mother is out of sight, Marceline turns, taking Bonnibel’s face in both of her hands and kissing her firmly.

“Oh,” Bonnibel says, then as Marceline kisses her again, “Mm.”

She laughs as her face is let go, only to be enveloped in a hug.

“Tell me these things first, next time.” Marceline mumbles.

“Right,” Bonnibel agrees, “I should have. How are you doing?”

“I’m... I’m good. This is nice. I just needed a moment.”

“Okay, but don’t take too many. we only have a day here.”

“Yeah...”

“Do you want me to take over the tea?”

“She’ll be back in a sec,” Marceline whispers, “she probably wants a moment too.”

“Can we get a couch like this?” Bonnibel whispers back.

Marceline laughs, leaning her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I guess it makes me not wanna float as much. You fixed up the current one pretty comfy though too.”

“Not like this,” Bonnibel admires. Her butt is firmly sank into the cushion. 

She stands as Elise returns, signifying the water is boiling, and overtly tells them she’s going to let them talk while she makes the teas, asking how the other woman takes hers.

Bonnibel steps out of sight, leaning against the wall in the kitchen. The kettle’s a little loud, even just heating up. She turns it off. They’ll probably want more than a minute to talk, anyway.

They start light, Marceline telling her mother that she lives with Bonnibel in a nice little house in a cavern. They met a long time ago, and started dating again about 25 years prior. Marceline’s mother laughs, asks if “girlfriend” is really the appropriate term here. Bonnie blushes, in the kitchen.

She’s been alive for about a thousand years, Marceline confirms. Elise makes a comment about her demon blood, and Marceline doesn’t correct her to add that she’s also a vampire, Bonnibel notes. They’ve only got today, so she supposes Marceline doesn’t want to complicate it too much.

Elise apologizes for not being there for her.

There’s a pause.

Marceline says it’s ok, tells her she got her voicemail. She doesn’t say when she got it.

Marceline tells Elise she met a nice man named Simon, who raised her after she left. After she died, she corrects herself. She doesn’t say that Simon lost his memory and his mind for most of the time she knew him.

Bonnibel sighs. It’s none of her business, she reminds herself, how much Marceline wants to sugarcoat her hard life to her mom. 

She turns the kettle back on. 

When she returns with the teas, Elise is sitting in her spot on the couch, holding Marceline’s arm. Marceline has a cute blush on her cheeks.

Bonnibel sets their drinks on the coffee table, returning with her own a moment later and sitting opposite them both on a nice green armchair. It’s not as comfy as the couch. 

“There’s nothing about being trapped in the underworld if you eat the food, is there?” Elise asks.

“No,” Bonnibel says, taking a sip of her tea, “I mean, except for the cursed food.”

“So how’d you two girls meet?”

Bonnibel defers to Marceline, until her girlfriend nods, prompting her to continue.

“At a rock concert,” she answers, “Marceline was playing. She’s very talented and I thought she was very very cool. And cute.”

“Yes,” Elise coos, pinching her daughter’s cheek, “She was always so talented, even from such a young age.”

“Learned from you.”

“If you want to play me something,” Elise asks, giving her a little bit of puppy dog eyes, “I’ve got a guitar upstairs.”

“Oh, uh,” Marceline’s face grows ever-pinker, “sure, Mom.”

Elise grins, standing and rushing upstairs.

“Quick Bonnie,” Marceline whispers, “what’s a good song of mine that’s not too bummer?”

“I like the one about the sky, or the cavern, or that one you played at Jake’s birthday last year,” she suggests, “and you’re always great at riffing, if it comes down to it.”

Elise returns with two guitars, one acoustic, one electric. Marceline’s face lights up at the sight.

“I’ll play for you, but you gotta return the favor.”

“Deal.”

Marceline stands, hopping over the table and floating gracefully to her feet. Elise clearly notices, but Bonnibel doesn’t think that Marceline realizes she did it. 

She strums out a familiar tune- the upbeat rock song that she played for Jake’s birthday. It’s a great choice, showing off a good amount of technical skill, with fun lyrics and a catchy rhythm. 

Bonnibel finds herself moving to the beat, tapping her foot and nodding her head, still seated with her tea. When she looks over at Elise, the woman is beaming.

Marceline is too focused on playing for a while to notice. She looks to Bonnibel first, eyes crinkling warmer, then risks a glance at her mom.

When she sees Elise’s face, smile wide and eyes wet, she falters, missing several notes before giving up completely, bending over with the giggles. Elise joins her, grabbing Marceline in a tight hug around the guitar, and the two of them share a moment, laughing and crying. Bonnibel snaps a pic with one hand, holding her tea against her thigh with the other.

A firm knock at the door interrupts the nice moment.

Marceline and Elise both start, the smiles falling from their faces.

“It’s weird here,” Elise whispers, “you can’t really visit without calling and getting permission first. You really surprised me when you knocked this morning.”

Bonnibel places her tea down, striding decisively over to the door to open it.

“Princess Bubblegum,” Death greets.

“We get 24 hours!” Bonnibel reminds him, in case he’s here to take them back.

“Yeah, yeah, cool it,” he says, shaking his head, “I just want to speak with you. May I come in?”

He looks past her, to Elise, staring daggers at him as she clutches Marceline protectively.

“Yeah, I guess,” Bonnibel huffs, “do we get these minutes you’re wasting back?”

“Ah, are you enjoying this time?” Death asks her, grinning, “It sure would be nice if your Marceline could see her mother _more_. People fear death, but there is something worse in immortality, no?”

“Not to me,” Bonnibel mumbles, “what do you want?”

“Mom, it’s ok,” Marceline says, prying her mother’s arms off of her. Due to their difference in height, Elise’s cling has become somewhat of a headlock, pulling her daughter down.

“I have a problem I think you might be best equipped to solve for me,” Death says, “maybe, in return, we could arrange this sort of thing to happen more often?”

Bonnibel has made many negotiations in her time. It does not escape her notice that he is making the offer in front of Marceline and Elise, instead of stepping outside with her to talk.

“What sort of problem...?”

“I’d just love it if you two ladies could stop a demon for me,” he says, “he’s encroaching on my territory and it’s no small thing getting him out of there. Plus, he’s doing something to the- to the fabric, or whatever. Of spacetime. Kind of annoying.”

“You didn’t come to me because you wanted to see Pep sooner,” Bonnibel accuses, “you just wanted to bait me with a reason to agree to this.”

“Hey...” Death says, not denying, “I see this as a win-win. You stop him from demolishing precious areas of my territory, and in return, I’ll let you come back and see Elise here once every few years.”

Bonnibel crosses her arms, considering.

“Every-” she starts to counter.

Marceline steps behind her, placing a hand on each shoulder and whispering in her ear, “Hey Peebs, can we talk over there for a moment?”

“...Hold on.”

She lets Marceline drag her into the kitchen, leaving Elise standing awkwardly in the hall with the god of death. 

“I’m willing to do it,” Bonnibel whispers.

“No, I- I didn’t want you to have to decide on the spot.” Marceline says, taking her hands, “You need to think this through. This isn’t like a normal bad adventure... you die here, you’re _dead, dead._ No comebacks, no Deathworld. Permadeath.”

“I know.”

“He wouldn’t outsource this if it wasn’t crazy dangerous...” Marceline says, “and I know how much you like being alive.”

“Well... I like being alive with you,” Bonnibel says, “would you go, even if I said no?”

Marceline runs her forked tongue over one of her sharp teeth, thinking. Her eyes drift towards where they left her mom.

“If you want to come back here,” Bonnibel whispers, “I would love to help you do that.”

“...It’s really nice,” Marceline admits, throat tight, “but being with you... Immortality doesn’t feel like as much of a curse anymore... I don’t want to lose that.”

“And I don’t want you to lose your mom again,” Bonnibel says, “the whole time we’ve been here, I’ve felt bad that I’ve reintroduced you just to take you away again. One day is nothing.”

Marceline hangs her head, wiping her eyes with her palm.

“Look, the dude’s not going to let you see her again if we say no to this,” she continues, “it would make him look weak. No matter what he wants from us in the future, I’d bet this is off the table.”

Marceline nods.

“We’ve survived worse,” Bonnibel says, “Probably. That GOLB thing was pretty dank.”

“Bonnie, that was terrible,” Marceline laughs, “we definitely almost all kicked it on that one, that does not make me feel better.”

“How about it?”

“Okay, but if we’re losing, we bail, I say goodbye to my mom, and we go home.” Marceline pulls her into a tight hug, “thank you, Bonnie. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Marcie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading so far! If you liked, please take a moment to let me know what you thought! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moving the rating up to T, for depictions of a bit of violence, though nothing more than some of the stuff Adventure Time shows normally.  
> Also moved the chapter expectation up to 4. That feels right. 
> 
> Previous chapter recap/summary: During a visit to Deathworld, Death offers Bonnibel and Marceline the opportunity for regular visits with Marceline's mother, if they complete a dangerous mission for him.

“I need more information,” Bonnie announces to Death, striding through the living room and into the hall, grabbing her tea on the way, “Let’s talk outside.”

“Of course, Princess,” Death answers, stepping onto the porch with her, “Savor your time with your mother, Marceline.”

Marceline’s mother turns towards her as the door closes. 

“Don’t do it, Marceline,” she whispers, “it sounds dangerous.”

“It’s ok,” Marceline assures her, “Bonnie and I do biz like this all the time. We’re really good at it. That’s why he wanted her help in the first place.”

“Are you sure...?” Elise takes her hand, running her thumb delicately over her knuckles, “I was so worried about you, for so long... I don’t want something to happen to you because of me.”

“I don’t want to never see you again,” Marceline counters, frowning.

“Me either,” her mom admits.

“We’ll be back before you know it. Bonnie is out there negotiating once a year visits,” she smiles, “wouldn’t that be nice?”

“I’m coming with you.”

“Oh... No, Mom. You can’t.”

“It’s _here_ , isn’t? I can go.”

“It’s-”

“Don’t you dare tell me it’s too dangerous, and then go do it yourself.”

Marceline laughs, caught. She sighs.

“I’m a demon, mom.” 

She considers telling her that she’s a vampire, too, but her mind wanders to her mother’s horror at seeing her suck the life from that wolf. She knows now that she wasn’t abandoned for it, but it’s true that it had upset her.

“Half-demon...” Elise tuts, “and what about Bonnie?”

“She’s forreal a supergenius,” Marceline shrugs, “but okay, she’s a bit squishier than me... (heh).”

“...Is she really a princess?”

“Yeah. She runs a whole kingdom.” Marceline says, clarifying, “There’s no queen or king or anything.”

“Because she’s not married yet....?” Elise gasps playfully, “You could be a queen, Marceline. Oh, it even rhymes a little. Queen Marc-eline”

Marceline, the Vampire Queen, moves to correct her, before her anxieties about admitting she’s not just a demon hold her forked tongue. 

Instead, she says, “Wow, you really are my mom. Trying to pressure me into getting married.”

“Well, you’ve been together _25 years_. That’s a crazy amount of time, baby. I don’t understand how you can still call that woman your girlfriend.”

Marceline laughs. Maybe they are a little ridiculous. Bonnie’s always considered herself the age she’s frozen at; she supposes it shouldn't be a surprise that she’s a little stuck in time on all matters.

The front door opens and Bonnie walks back in, holding her empty mug.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“I’m coming too,” Elise tells her.

“No.” Bonnie says definitively, smiling kindly.

“I am.”

“Let’s go Marceline,” Bonnie says, “Elise, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you. I love your daughter very, very much. And for that reason, I need you to stay here and not permadie.”

“Sorry, Princess Bonnie, but if you are going to risk your life for this, then at the very least I am coming with.”

Bonnie waits for support, but Marceline just shrugs.

“It’s up to you,” she tells Marceline softly, picking up her backpack, “I think we should get moving, he made it sound like things are getting pretty out of hand.”

“Did you get once a year?”

“No,” Bonnie says, and Marceline’s heart sinks until she continues, “Twice a year.”

“Oh, what!”

“Two 48-hour visits to see Elise every calendar year, for you plus one guest,” Bonnie brags, “I used my mad negotiating skills.”

Before Marceline can pull her girlfriend into a crushing hug, her mom beats her to the punch, throwing her arms around Bonnie’s shoulders and leaning her forehead against her temple.

“Oh!”

“Thank you!” Elise says, pulling away and shaking her a little, “Let me get my coat.”

“Haha sorry,” Marceline says quietly, blushing.

“For what?” Bonnie asks, clearly tickled. Her eyes crinkle pleasantly, and a small smile lingers on her face.

“Nothing,” she says, “...Do you mind if my mom comes?”

“No, but I’m going to need your help, Marceline,” Bonnie tells her, “flying, fighting. Are you gonna be alright doing that in front of her?”

“Yeah, no problem...” 

Elise trots back downstairs excitedly, a thick green coat over her shoulders.

“Well, here we go I guess. Which way?”

Bonnie pulls a map from her pocket, courtesy of Death.

“This Deathworld is a sphere, like a planet, but the inside is hollow, containing these little habitats,” Bonnie explains, “they jostle around inside, like a rolling container full of gumballs.”

They step outside, into artificial sunlight which does not burn Marceline’s skin, emanating from no clear source in the blue skies. Bonnie points to a cloud, curving noticeably against the small circumference.

“The edges are also permeable, so if we can reach them, we should go right through to wherever we’re up against now,” she continues, “and if we time it right, we should be able to pop out near where we’re wanted.”

In the center of the map is a circle, labeled with a cute green house. Around it, other circles pop in and out of existence as their ‘gumball’ knocks against passing others, flashing an orange mansion, a boat, a skull and crossbones, on and on. In the corner of the map, a small red dot can be seen wobbling around near the middle of a larger circle, one point of which is identified with a static arrow.

“How do we get up there?” Elise asks, turning to look at the short but sheer cliff her house is settled against.

“Like this,” Marceline says, scooping her mother up in a bridal carry and hovering several feet off the ground.

Elise clings to her, wide-eyed and smiling.

“Woah, neat trick!”

She drops back down, trying to figure out how to hold her mom and Bonnie at the same time. The easiest way would of course be to shift into a giant bat, but instead she throws them over a shoulder each, flying straight upward.

“Wait Marceline,” Bonnie calls, still calmly reading the map, over her shoulder, while Elise pulls at the material of her jacket, “Waaaaiiiit....... Ok now!”

Marceline breaks through, popping out into grey skies. Below them, a churning sea laps against the edges of a tall lighthouse.

“Aw beans,” Bonnie mutters, “it’s hard to figure out which point of the sphere we’re- Okay _now,_ Marcie!”

“Huh?”

“Back up!”

Marceline flies up, back to the point she’d just entered from.

The environment changes again, to a grassy green field. A deer stares up at them.

“Again!”

Up. Into a pure white room. It hurts her eyes.

“Again!” 

Up. A forest.

“Wait....... Again!! Now!” Bonnie calls, hitting Marceline in the back, urgently. 

This time, they emerge from the ground, not the sky, with a flash of light. Despite it having been their entrance point a moment before, the rocks beneath their feet are solid as Marceline sets them down.

“Perfect!” Bonnie says, smoothing out her map. The red dot from before has moved to the outer circle, near the arrow.

“What- what does-” Elise rubs her head, ruffling her short hair, leaning against Marceline a little shakily, “can you explain the map again?”

“We bounced from gumball to gumball,” Bonnie says, pointing to the center of the larger circle, “as they jostled into a space near the arrow and away from their prior position, we jumped into a closer gumball, until we were able to hit the edge, here.”

“Nice one, Bon,” Marceline says, “looks like we landed pretty close!”

“Yes, I didn’t want to waste too much time walking. Nice flying Marceline.”

“Very nice, baby,” Elise agrees, “I’d like to try that again sometime. I’ll be ready for it.”

“Ok, Mom, we can go spy on other bubbles!”

“That might violate our visiting rights under normal circumstances,” Bonnie warns, flipping the map over and handing it to Marceline.

The other side is a more standard map view, showing their position on a flat plane, with a red, circled area further up. They begin their long walk through the shadowy, craggly cliffside.

“So, Princess Bonnie-”

“It’s Princess Bubblegum,” Bonnie corrects.

“You don’t have to call her Princess, Mom,” Marceline corrects, “‘Bonnibel’ is fine.”

A pause.

“Oh, yes. Bonnibel is fine, of course.” Bonnie says, a little too used to all of her closest friends calling her ‘Princess’ to think of politely insisting otherwise.

It had been an issue between them before they had broken up, the first time they were dating, that Bonnie didn’t have anyone else who called her by her first name anymore. She’d never once implied Marceline should call her anything formal, but it was still weird to see her girlfriend change more and more from her nerdy pal into the powerful ruler of an empire.

She’s used to it now, especially since Bonnie’s cooled it a little. Giving up her power to the KOO for a short while had really opened Marceline’s eyes to the fact that her whole responsibility schtick was at least as much of a stress for Bonnie as a source of vanity. And it opened Bonnie’s eyes to the fact that she didn’t need to rule at the expense of all of her personal relationships.

“Bonnibel... what a pretty name. Marceline was telling me how smart you were, earlier,” Elise says, “she really seems to think the world of you.”

“Aw,” Bonnie chuckles, “thank you. I feel the same way about Marcie.”

Her mom asks Bonnibel about her family, then about her citizens, then the kingdom. She seems to be rolling quite well with a lot of the information, about what kinds of people have inhabited the Earth alongside the remaining humans, and about how her daughter is dating the ruler of a particularly large and successful empire, mostly populated with candy people.

Just as Elise starts to seek clarification that Bonnie is telling her, for real, that she personally _created_ most of her citizens, Marceline picks up a low rumble. Her ears twitch, locating the sound, as her mom and girlfriend remain oblivious.

Marceline lunges towards them at the same time as the demon does.

Her mother yells her name. Bonnie curses.

The creature digs its teeth painfully into her arm as she snatches it out of the air, tumbling several feet. With her opposite hand, she punches it hard in the face until it lets go, falling limply against the floor.

  
Before she can celebrate, hot claws rake against her back, and Marceline finds herself struggling with four more. She trips over another, lying unmoving on the ground, Bonnie’s knife sticking out of its head.

The one on her back wheezes as she lands on top of it, and Marceline shapeshifts an arm to crush it before shredding the remaining three.

“Bonnie! Mom!”

In front of her, Bonnie writhes underneath a pile of three smaller, winged demons, and her mother struggles against one dog-like one, her back to Marceline. Elise eases one hand off of its throat to pick up a rock, catching the beast in the temple, giving Marceline enough peace of mind to help Bonnie first.

One falls off of her before Marceline can get there, twitching with electric shock waves, and the other two are short work for her big cat claws. She pulls the final demon off of Elise next, holding it upright in her normal hands, grip tight.

Panting with anger, Marceline moves to snap its neck, but hesitates as she locks eyes with her mother. Instead, she throws the creature as hard as she can. It disappears on the other side of the jagged rocks they’re cornered against, with a surprised howl. 

“Are you hurt?” Marceline asks them both frantically, looking around the area. 

In addition to the thrown demon, the seven she took out herself, the one Bonnie knifed, and the one still twitching from electric shock, four demons lay confined in some sort of forcefield, scratching at the barrier around them.

“I’m good,” Bonnie huffs, but does not get up.

“I’m okay,” Elise agrees, easing her coat off, “just a bit bruised.”

“Me too,” Marceline assures them.

Her own wounds are gone already, courtesy of the Moon’s vampire healing powers.

"Oh, babe," Marceline crouches over Bonnie, gently taking her left arm to examine it.

"I'm fiiine," Bonnie insists.

Her nice purple dress shirt is shredded, and dark pink juice-blood stains the sleeve. Marceline rips it off, discarding it to the side, and pulls off the other sleeve to tear into strips. 

Her eye twitches.

“Sorry Peebs... one sec... Hey, Mom, can you help me with this?” Marceline says shakily, thrusting the cloth at Elise; she stands, walking quickly away. 

With her mother distracted, Marceline licks the blood off her fingers, then digs around in Bonnie’s bag for some of the red candies she brought, sucking several dry and chucking them onto the ground. She really can't get this behind on eating.

Settled, she returns with the backpack, kneeling on the sharp gravel.

“No real bandages in here,” she says, reaching out to pet Bonnie’s forehead.

“I’m okay, it doesn’t hurt too bad,” Bonnie assures them both, inching backwards to rest in Marceline’s lap as Elise finishes dressing her injury, “thank you Elise.”

“No problem,” she says, eying the creatures in the forcefield warily, and then those on the ground, “You saved me back there. You too, Marceline... it looks like you took out a lot.”

Marceline doesn’t comment, just slips off her red blazer, handing it to Bonnie to wear.

Her girlfriend seems alright, absentmindedly slipping the jacket on as she sits up, examining the demons around her. It’s cute how she’s always ready to move on to something more interesting, Marceline thinks.

“Chuck,” she instructs, picking a small metal chip off of the electrocuted one, and repocketing it.

Marceline tosses the creature over the rocks.

Bonnie retrieves her knife next, wiping it off on the dead creature’s fur. She presses a button, and the switchblade retreats. 

Finally, she ambles over to the demons she trapped in a forcefield. 

Elise hangs back for a moment, snagging Marceline’s arm. She leans into the touch; her mother’s palm is soft against her now bare arm, and her familiar face leans closer to Marceline’s, dark brown eyes wide and worried.

“Is it too late to turn around?”

Marceline frowns, eyes stinging. 

She wants to leave. She understands why her mother is scared, but she just got her back, and she hardly even wants to try to keep their chance to see each other?

“No,” Marceline says, bitterly.

Elise nods, swallowing thickly as she turns away.

“Thank you so much for trying, for me,” she continues, after a moment, “but I can’t be the reason you lose Bonnibel.”

“What?”

“You seemed so worried,” her mother says, “I can tell you really care about her.”

A minute ago, Marceline thinks, when she fled from her girlfriend before she could accidentally suck all the red from her pretty pink face in a moment of vampiric bloodlust. Yeah, real worried.

Marceline smiles. She’s regressing, here, turning back into that kid who assumed the worst, pushed people away before they could leave her. But she knows better now, she just needs to remember that.

“Hey Bubs!” Marceline calls, “You want to turn back and quit?”

“What!” Bonnie throws an insulted look over her shoulder, “Flip no, Marceline, don’t be a dingus.”

“I think she’s good.”

“She got hurt.”

“Yeah, she’s okay, she patches easier. The whole arm could come off and she’d be able to put it back when she got home,” Marceline says, “And anyway she’s such a nerd, she doesn’t even care. She’s having fun, look at her.”

Bonnie types away at the tiny keyboard around her forcefield, probably taking readings, or something. Marceline watches closely, in case they break free and try to chop her head off.

“I don’t think they can speak,” Bonnie calls back, “come here.”

“It’s okay.” Marceline whispers, taking her mom’s hand, “If you’re scared, we can turn back, but I think this is worth a try.”

“...Alright, Marcie.”

“Can you take care of them if I let them out?” Bonnie asks, “I want my field generator back.”

“Sure,” Marceline says. She has to shapeshift in front of her mom. No problem. Even if she has to explain some things after. No problem. 

Elise steps back. Bonnie holds her knife, threateningly, and trips the release with her foot, shutting down the forcefield.

Marceline tenses.

The demons flee the area, tripping over loose gravel in their excitement to get far away from them.

“Oh, alright.”

“They were just animals,” Bonnie says, “but that attack felt targeted. Assume we’re being watched. Let’s keep moving.”

Elise is much quieter this time, clearly afraid of alerting more creatures to their presence. Marceline puts an arm around her shoulders, holding Bonnibel’s hand with the other, and speaks quietly with her mother, hoping she can get her to relax a little.

Elise is very impressed when she learns Bonnie built the field generator herself, and Marceline makes a point to brag that this isn’t just common tech in the future, that her girlfriend is a particularly genius inventor. Bonnie blushes, acting humble for about a minute before giving in and telling Elise about her favorite creations.

“My favorite thing you invented was after Fiiiii-” Marceline stumbles with a quiet yelp, lifting her arms straight in the air so she doesn’t bring them down with her, “nnnn.... What the shick.”

Bonnie and her mom catch her, grabbing one arm each. 

Pulsating light emanates from a pothole in the ground. Peering inside, Marceline sees a flash of sunset-orange, then grey, then blue, purple, on and on, like their trip through the ‘gumballs’.

“Break in the security system?” Marceline asks, “Hope those demons aren’t getting in there and eating people in their homes.”

“Mm... this one’s too small at least, not even enough to step in all the way, just big enough to trip you,” Bonnie says, “which is good, ‘cause if the bubbles kept rolling on, I’m not yet one-hundro on what would happen to your foot.”

“This must be the space fabric holes he was talking about.” Elise says.

“I hope so,” Bonnie mutters, staring down the winding path before them, “either way, I bet we’re real close.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and to those of you who reviewed last chapter! If you've got a moment to tell me what you thought, I'd really appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost done with my rewatch of AT, which I started after Obsidian. What a fun show...

Marceline adjusts her grip around Bonnie’s waist, fingers splayed against her squishy tummy, slipped through the gaps in the buttons of her dress shirt. Held in her other arm, Marceline’s mother clutches her wrist tightly, rubbing nervous circles against her skin with her thumbs.

It’s a nice moment, if she’s honest- one she’s really appreciating- even if the circumstances leave a little to be desired. 

They seem to be heading in the exact right direction, if the increase in interdimensional potholes is anything to go by. One opened up right before them not long ago, almost swallowing them whole. Hence the current safety policy- Marceline floats, legs folded crisscross, and holds onto her favorite women so they don’t fall to their permadeaths inside of the shifting bubbles of the afterlife. 

They haven’t spoken for a while now, afraid of getting attacked, but even in the silence, Marceline finds herself buzzing. She smiles toothily at her mom, whose serious expression falters. Elise eases one hand off of her forearm, bringing it up to the opposite side of Marceline’s face to rest. 

As they reach the top of the long, gradually ascending hill they’ve walked on for a while, trapped between towering jagged cliffs, they finally catch sight of their final destination. 

The slope drops significantly before them, feeding into the mouth of a dark cave. A pebble, inadvertently kicked by Elise, bounces down the steep, slick path, highlighting how much of a tumble either of them have waiting for them if they slip.

Elise puts her other hand back on Marceline’s arm.

They continue, carefully. Marceline takes all their weight, holding them upright as they slide slowly down the rocks. Bonnie angles her feet to just skim over the top, easing some of the pressure of Marceline’s grip around her waist. Her mother handles the descent a little less smoothly; teeth bared anxiously, Elise kicks her legs, boots scrabbling on and off of the ground, her head pressed against the side of her daughter’s shoulder.

Marceline chuckles. She’s really having fun.

The inside of the cave is more level, and eventually they skid to a stop. A pothole pulses to their left, in the darkness. 

“Okay Marceline,” Bonnie whispers, as her rustling yields a flashlight, “you can let go.”

Reluctantly, she does. The chill, damp air of the cave seems to settle over her skin. 

Elise crams her hands in her pockets, shivering, before realizing that Bonnie is wearing Marceline’s jacket, and that her daughter’s arms are bare.

“Oh- Honey,” Elise coos softly, immediately moving to take her coat off.

“Woah, woah, Mom,” Marceline stammers, struck by the gesture, “I’m okay, I’m not as susceptible to cold.”

For so long, Marceline had worried that her mother had abandoned her, afraid of what her demon blood could bring. She was wrong. This is the type of woman she is- someone who prioritizes Marceline’s comfort over her own, who clung to life long enough to get her to safety, who gave up company in her final moments so her daughter wouldn’t have to see her die.

“Tss,” Marceline hisses, embarrassed, as she feels tears welling up in her eyes. She nudges Bonnie’s arm- holding the flashlight- further from her, hoping that they won’t notice. 

A draft pulls through the tunnel, cold and unpleasant. Elise takes her hand in the dark, threading their fingers together, and slides it into her wide coat pocket.

“Big scary cave? No problem,” Marceline brags quietly, puffing out her chest, “just stay with  _ me. _ ”

“Shhhh...” Bonnie says, moving quietly forward.

Elise squeezes Marceline’s hand in response, huddling close. 

The whistle of wind grows stronger through the corridor, even as they turn the corner, away from the entrance. 

The light shakes as Bonnie jumps, startled. 

She turns, focusing the flashlight on the wall; it illuminates the rocks fine, with the exception of a wobbly, black void in the center, about the size of her fist, which swallows the beam completely. The void pulls hungrily at them, whipping Marceline’s hair out in front of her.

  
“What is that??” Elise asks.

“Outer space,” Bonnie says, “oh Glob, it’s growing bigger, we have to-” 

She crouches, throwing her backpack onto the ground and putting the flashlight into her mouth.

“Space?” Elise repeats, pulling Marceline to the floor with her.

“It’s the most statistically likely random environment to hit, it makes up most of the universe,” Bonnie mumbles, around the flashlight, “None of these holes have been intentional. They’ve been leading to the afterlife bubbles so far because this whole place is built on an interdimensional membrane- that was bound to tear first with any disturbance- but now they’re ripping through more stable areas of the fabric of space. That’s bad.”

Bonnie has stopped rustling in her bag, fidgeting with something inside. Marceline reaches out, ready to snatch her and haul them both far away if she needs to. 

“I love you, Marceline,” Elise says, clutching her arm.

“There!” Bonnie yells, tossing something small into the air; it’s immediately sucked into the hole.

She twists, holding her elbow over her face, and ducks her head. Marceline grabs her collar, pulling Bonnie and her mother away as something explodes into green light.

Abruptly, the wind stops, the sound stops, and the light disappears. Their flashlight hits the wall, bouncing off and clattering to the floor. Soon, the only sound around them is their own breathing and the distinct sound of several objects rolling.

“Ah, dink, I think the batteries fell out,” Bonnie whispers. 

“What did you do?” Elise asks, amazed.

Marceline collects the flashlight, slotting the batteries back in.

“Well, all dimensions operate on their own frequency. Like a radio station,” Bonnie explains, “and some force fields- like mine- take advantage of this, shifting the frequency  _ just  _ enough so that no-one can pass through them, forming a barrier.” 

Marceline turns the light back on, handing it to her.

“-Oh, thank you-” Bonnie says, and continues, “I rigged it to malfunction, and it tried to change the frequency of the whole area around the tear, which broke the pattern affecting the distortion long enough to stabilize it.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” Marceline says, smiling.

“Okay,” Bonnie says, standing, “let’s go stop this before things get really out of hand.”

“Yes, your highness,” Elise says, playfully. 

They follow the tunnel once more, passing several of the less alarming holes, including one which covers half the path and leaves them slinking along the wall.

Eventually, they emerge into a large cavern. It’s lit with an unnatural blue glow, which reaches all the way up to its high ceilings, illuminating a teal demon man with large, curved horns. His back is to them as he leans over a circle drawn onto the floor.

“There,” Bonnie points, into the corner of the room, where a large cube hovers in the air, rattling concerningly, “That must be what’s causing the rifts.”

“And I guess that’s the demon,” Elise says, “how are we supposed to stop  _ him _ ?”

“Like this.” Marceline says, baring her sharp teeth in a wide smile and pointing a thumb at her chest, “Any chance you somehow fit my bass in that backpack, babe?”

“No,” Bonnie says, “sorry.”

Her lovely girlfriend had made her a new axe-bass after her old one got wrecked. It’s no ancient demon axe, but it’s got a good sound, and after a millennium of carrying a two-in-one musical weapon, she couldn’t go back to a normal guitar. She’d opted not to bring it today, as Bonnie had implied this was going to be some sort of fancy social event. 

“I fight that guy, you figure out how to turn off the cube, and Mom waits here?” Marceline suggests.

“Well,” Bonnie hums, “to be honest I’d love an extra set of hands if they’re available...”

“Of course,” Elise nods.

Marceline grabs them each around the waist again, holding them just long enough to get down to ground level.

The cube is a bit past the demon, so Marceline creeps closer, ready to jump him and keep him busy while they shut it off. She shouldn’t need help, but she knows Bonnie will be there to back her up if things go south.

“ _ Fuck! _ ” Elise gasps behind her.

The demon man looks up from his work, turning and staring at them with glinting yellow eyes. Marceline reluctantly tears her gaze away from him to see what freaked her mom out enough to give away their position. 

“Oh.” 

Towering above them is one of the largest demons Marceline has ever seen. And she’s seen her fair share. It crouches against the tall ceiling, curling up from the ground, hidden previously in a pocket of the cavern not visible from their entrance.

Normally, she’d transform in an instant, countering this threat with an equally monstrous display.

She doesn’t want her mom to see her like that. But she has to.

Marceline hesitates.

A large hand sweeps across the area, batting Bonnibel hard off of her feet.

It’s stopped just short of crushing them into the wall as, with a yell, Marceline’s form ripples and she catches its palm with large, clawed hands. She steps carefully, so as to not step on her mother as she grows, feet scrabbling against the smooth rocks of the cave. 

She shoves the creature off, imbalancing him. To her right, the demon man gallops towards them in full trot.

Marceline scoops her mother and partner off the ground, transforming again into a large bat, and books it back the way they came.

The demon man skitters unnervingly up the wall, pursuing them still. He’d catch them too, Marceline thinks, if not for the misguided attempt at help by the giant, who shoves his large hand into the tunnel, blocking his master's path as he tries to blindly grab at them.

It gives her a lead, but not for long. Spurred by the distinctive clatter of the demon’s hooved feet against the stone echoing behind her, Marceline moves swiftly, looking for some sort of escape. She ducks into an opening in the wall, hoping at best for a cram space, and pleased to find a large pocket a little ways straight up.

She sets her mother down, holding Bonnie against her chest. They wait with bated breaths until the clatter continues past them, out of earshot. 

“It’s ok,” Marceline says, shifting some ears and swiveling them towards the opening, “I think we’re safe here for a while.”

  
Her mother nods, swallowing thickly.

Bonnibel groans, bringing a shaky hand up to her face.

“Bonnie, honey?” Marceline says.

“Mir geht es gut,” she mumbles, voice growing softer with each word, "keine angst.”

“She’s okay,” she translates; she only understands pieces of German in context, but Bonnie usually makes it pretty clear by her tone or gestures what she means, even if Marceline can’t remember the exact meanings of the words.

Elise frowns.

Marceline slowly pulls Bonnie’s arms out of the loops of her backpack, resettling her in her lap.

“We’ll have to try again when Bonnibel is done with her nap.” Marceline says, “We can’t just leave that machine there, it seems pretty dang dangerous.”

She unzips the bag, brushing the small guitar to the side to look for food. Red candies, some water bottles, and a little tupperware packed with sandwiches. She hands the container to her mom along with a water, quietly asking that she leave a couple for Bonnie, and places the red candies beside her.

“How are we expected to get past all that?” Elise sighs.

“I told you, you’ve got me.” Marceline says, over feeling self-conscious; it almost got them killed, and it’s not who she wants to be, “I’m not just your little girl, mama... I’m Marceline the Vampire Queen, famed defender of humanity and Ooo and the planet Earth. And I am gonna kick that demon’s ass.”

“Oh...” her mother’s eyes flick to her neck; her hair fell back over her shoulders in the commotion, and two neat, round scars are clearly visible once again, “Vampire?”

“I got bit 15 years after we last saw each other, saving the last of the humans from the vampires,” Marceline says, popping a red candy against her tooth and sucking the color out of it, “but I don’t need blood, see? And I don’t hurt anyone.”

“...I know you wouldn’t baby, you’ve always had a good heart.”

Marceline ducks her head, thinking of all the times she faltered in that. She never hurt anyone directly, but after long enough of seeing everything fall to hell all over again, she grew a bit callous for a while.

“I didn’t get your voicemail until several years ago,” Marceline admits, “I thought you’d left me because I soul-sucked that wolf in front of you and its baby.”

“Oh, Marcie no-” Elise looks horrified, her hand moving over her mouth.

She puts down the tupperware, unopened, and inches closer to her daughter. Slowly sitting down on the opposite side where Bonnibel is resting, Elise takes Marceline’s face in her hands.

“I never wanted to leave you...” she says, “I would have done anything to stay.”

“I know...”

“And... you surprised me, with your... abilities, but it was reassuring, in a way. I knew you could take care of yourself out there, without me.” her mother says, “And you  _ did _ . Oh Marceline, you built a whole life for yourself, with a nice girl, and you do good work helping people? I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

Hot tears roll over Elise’s fingers. Marceline looks away, embarrassed, but leans into the touch as her mother swipes her thumbs underneath her eyes. 

She moves the candies onto her lap, putting her back to the wall and cramming in against Marceline’s other side, and nudges the tupperware closer with her foot. They rest for a little while, eating and talking and enjoying each other’s company. Bonnie sleeps peacefully, briefly waking at some point to drowsily open and close her hand in a signed request for water, before closing her eyes once more.

When she’s done with her food, Elise reaches into Bonnie’s backpack, slowly pulling out Marceline’s childhood guitar. It’s simply made, patched together from a shoebox and a paper towel roll.

“Is this the same...?” she gasps, running her fingers across the strings.

“Yeah,” Marceline chuckles, “lasted pretty well sealed away in that bunker you found for me.”

“Play me something?” Elise asks, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“Your turn, actually,” Marceline whispers, throat tight.

Her mother nods seriously, breathing in slowly through her nose. She starts simply, testing out the musical range of the little instrument, then begins to thrum a cute little tune. Of her own creation, Marceline is sure.

Elise’s voice is extremely pleasant- although Marceline is quite biased- and excellent at hitting higher notes, which she does now, singing a sweet song about her “little girl” who she misses terribly. 

Marceline listens, enraptured by her mother saying exactly what she’s longed to hear since she last saw her. That she cared about her, and she missed her, and she wished they could be together again. Tears roll down her cheeks, dripping onto her lap, but this time she does not try to hide them. 

Elise finishes the song, the last note fading into heavy silence. 

Bonnie giggles.

It starts as a quiet huff- one she clearly desperately tries to contain- but soon breaks out into a full, short laugh. Her partner claps her hand over her mouth, mortified, and Marceline realizes she has been faking her nap since she woke up to drink, trying to give the two of them space to talk it out.

Marceline cackles in return, thinking of Bonnie holding her breath for so long, watching her cheeks grow ever-pinker beneath her hands, which now slide up her face and over her eyes. Elise joins in, and soon their hiding place is filled with the sounds of their strained laughter, each trying and failing to not be too loud.

“I’m so sorry,” Bonnibel whispers at last, “I’m not laughing at you. That was a beautiful song...” she rubs her temples, tired eyes turning towards Elise, “Marceline cried on my face. It surprised me.”

Marceline laughs again, and Elise hits her knee playfully, shushing her. 

“Thank you, Mom, it was beautiful...” Marceline says seriously, taking the guitar back, “It means a lot to me, getting to hear your music again. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to keep coming to see you... We can collab!”

“Of course, baby... Just gotta defeat a house-sized demon first,” Elise says, throwing her hands up in a shrug, eyes wide, “no problem.”

“That’s the spirit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, they really mean a lot. If you've got a moment to leave a comment letting me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it. ^_^
> 
> Should be just one more chapter to go on this one.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter ^_^

Elise nervously snacks on candies as her daughter and her partner chatter casually about their plan to take on a demon man, a giant monster, and a reality-warping machine. 

The best she’d dared hope for years ago- clinging to life as she slowly perished from radiation poisoning, knowing that soon she’d have to leave her beautiful little girl behind- was that Marceline would find a way to survive, and that the harsh wild around her wouldn’t strip her of her kindness and happiness.

She can tell she’s still missing a great deal of what happened in the middle, but Marceline’s smile is as wide and sharp as she remembers, at least. 

She also seems to be some sort of rockstar hero back on Earth, playing concerts and saving people from vampires and other monsters with her candy princess girlfriend, human man friend, and... a dog? She’d assume some embellishment was involved if Death himself hadn’t shown up to ask them for a favor. 

“Got any other cool gadgets?” Marceline asks.

“No,” Bonnibel sighs, digging through her bag, “I thought this was just going to be a social visit, so I only brought basic precautions...”

She pockets a small metal disk used previously to immobilize a small demon, then takes out her flashlight and pocket knife, setting both on the floor. She reaches into her trouser pocket, pulling out a small handful of confetti and tossing it, discontentedly, into the air. 

“You bring a forcefield on social visits?” Elise asks, referring to the small device the princess broke earlier to close a dimensional rift.

“People try to kill or kidnap me sometimes,” she shrugs, “or crazy stuff just happens near my kingdom and I like to help if I’m needed. Always gotta be prepared.”

“Oh.”

“Alright, now’s as good a time as any,” Bonnibel says, “Elise- you can help me stop the rifts. Marceline- I need you to take out the demon dude.” 

“Can’t I just smash the machine?”

“No. You can’t unscrew something by breaking the drill. I’ll have to stabilize the patterns before we can wreck it.”

“And the giant?” Elise asks.

“The big guy is really too large for the cavern, so Marcy, if you just keep moving and stay invisible, I think you’ll be alright until we can come help you.”

“What if he goes after you two?”

“If he’s at all intelligent or trained, he won’t risk destroying the machine- we’ll be right under it,” she reasons, “and if he isn’t... I’ll make sure your mother doesn’t get crushed.”

“Okay,” Marceline nods.

“Okay...” Elise agrees, grimacing.

Marceline carries them out of the pocket in the wall they’ve been resting in, and together they silently creep back over to the large cavern, keeping low to the floor as they peek into the opening.

The monster is once again squirreled away around the corner of their entrance, one large foot sticking out into their fields of vision. The demon man continues to scribble on the floor. They watch as he stands at last, walking over to the large, rattling cube floating near the wall, before returning and kneeling in front of his circle. 

“He’s probably taking measurements with the cube and translating them into a formula,” Bonnibel whispers, “alchemy and summoning circles are just conduits for math and science that people try to pass off as _magic._ ”

“Can you read them?” Marceline whispers.

“No... Wizards are so secretive,” she grumbles, “if I can figure out what some of the symbols represent, maybe I can edit it enough to force a shut-off.”

As they’re speaking, a pinprick of light- as bright as welding, for a brief moment- flickers several feet in the air above the circle, before opening up into a growing hole. A hand, clad in metal, reaches through the tear as soon as it’s large enough to do so, flashing a thumbs up.

“Aw donk, he’s summoning backup.”

“Probably trying to take over this Deathworld,” Bonnibel agrees.

“Can’t have that,” Marceline growls, “my mom lives here.” 

She shifts into a large bat, dropping them off at the cube before slamming into the demon man in a heavy tackle. 

Elise watches anxiously as the giant creature unfolds itself from against the wall, swiveling its head in her daughter’s direction. 

“Okay, the program is already running on _that_ portal,” Bonnibel tuts, reaching into the cube and digging around, “but it’s still super destabilizing the area as it does so. We’re in for a lot more trouble than an army if this idiot rips the planet to shreds or manifests a black hole by accident.”

She rips a small device out of the machine, equipped with a screen flashing different symbols.

“This looks like what’s written in the circle... Okay, if I know the coordinates to here, and I know the coordinates of various points of Ooo...” she mumbles, “I think we can make something work.”

Bonnibel runs over to the circle, picking the demon man’s chalk off of the floor and using it to scribble a series of numbers over to the side. From the growing portal above her, Elise sees a soldier try to shove his upper body through, readying a spear.

As he gets his arm out, holding it above the seemingly oblivious princess’ head, Elise grabs his arm, dropping all of her weight onto the ground and ripping the weapon out of his hand. She swings it sideways, batting the back of his hand away before slamming the butt of it into his helmet. 

As he falters backwards, the portal inches ever larger, just big enough now for another soldier, a dark green demon with a snout, to clamber over his armor-clad body, climbing out of the hole and into the cavern with her.

Elise holds the spear threateningly, wielding it more like a bat than something that stabs. He bears his sword in her direction, taking a swing and missing as she skitters backwards. The soldier leaps forward, sword over his head to bat downwards at her-

And falls over, twitching.

The sword clatters across the stone, landing at Elise’s feet, and Bonnibel turns towards her, winking. Stuck to the creature’s ankle is a small metal circle, emitting shockwaves up into his body.

The next soldier, mid-entrance, pauses, eying his convulsing teammate and the princess warily. 

He is shoved out by someone behind him, and tumbles, standing and threatening them both with his spear as he backs up, giving room for more soldiers to join him, one at a time. 

“Ah hah!” the Princess announces. She types into the device as Elise braces, ready to protect her from the onslaught.

“Ready??” Elise asks.

“Here!” Bubblegum announces at last, as the teal demon man flies over their heads, striking the soldiers like bowling pins.

Elise holds the top of her head, flinching, and turns to see Marceline over her shoulder, watching them.

“Marcy!” Elise yells, ignoring Bonnibel as she tries to hand her something.

The giant monster, an enormous grey demon with few distinguishable features other than its humanoid shape, brings a palm down over her daughter. She reappears, several feet away, flicking on and off invisibility and almost appearing to be teleporting. 

“Elise, take this,” Bubblegum demands, shoving the device into her hand, “I need you to plug it back in. Marcy will be fine.”

As Elise runs towards the cube, Marceline joins her partner, defending against the onslaught of soldiers climbing into their world. No longer distracted by the vampire, the large beast turns its heavy gaze towards Elise once more, clearly intelligent enough to understand no-one should be going towards its master’s cube.

It moves sluggishly in her direction, knocking its head against jagged structures hanging from the ceiling and raining rocks over its allies. One hits Marceline, but she shrugs it off, covering Bonnibel. 

Elise’s hands shake as she pries the back open, trying to figure out where Bonnibel pulled this from. It’s got clear prongs in the back, but the interior of the cube is packed with wiring and blinking lights, with no clear outlet. She can hear the massive footsteps of the giant growing ever closer, but pulling her head out to look for it will only make this take longer.

  
Thud.

Thud.

She tries plugging it in to a set of holes, but finds the star pattern on the back is one notch short.

Thud. 

A shadow falls over her, further obscuring the inside of the machine. She should have grabbed the flashlight.

Elise feels for the shape with her fingers, slamming the device into place as a large hand reaches over behind the machine, insanely large fingers wrapping around her torso.

Immediately, all the air in her lungs is expelled, and Elise’s chest twitches with pain as her body tries ineffectually to breathe back in.

She’s too disoriented with panic to understand for a moment that the roaring in her ears isn’t just shock. It’s not until she looks to Marceline for help that she sees the water pouring into the cavern through the portal previously occupied by an army.

The entire party, including Marceline and Bonnibel, are swept away by the rush of water. Eventually, Marceline emerges holding her partner, though the soldiers sink like stones.

As the dark edges of Elise’s vision spread into total darkness, she hopes Marcy gets out safe.

\--

She’s so cold.

“Mom?”

The pressure around her torso is still there.

Although...

It feels... gentler.

Elise cracks an eye open, relieved at the relative darkness around them. Her head is killing her. 

Marceline smiles, eyebrows screwed together, and she realizes what is holding her so tightly is her daughter, cradling her in her lap. They’re still in the cave, but out of the cavern and back into the unlit tunnels. She shifts uncomfortably, shivering. It was cold to begin with, but now they’re all sopping wet.

Bonnibel leans in, holding one hand to her own cheek and shining the flashlight at an angle over Elise’s face, peering closely into her eyes. It’s not direct light, but it’s a little too bright for her right now, and Elise cringes, turning her head.

“Bonnie,” Marceline scolds, pushing the flashlight away.

“How are you feeling, Elise?” she asks, politely, ignoring the complaint.

“Good,” Elise croaks.

“What’s my name?”

“Bonnie.”

“Well Marceline just-” Bonnibel tuts, “What’s my full name?”

“Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum,” she says; she tries to convey the sort of tone you might use to address a princess, but she’s rather tired and she’s sure it doesn’t sound like much.

“Hmm... what’s the name of-”

“I’m okay,” Elise assures her, but another shiver rattles through her body, “...Did we win?”

“We think so.” Marceline says.

“I programmed an override to open a portal near Ooo before shutting down,” Bonnibel says, “in the universe, the most statistically likely thing to hit is open space. Around the surface of Earth, it’s water.” 

“We flooded the cave.” Marceline says, simply.

“Marcy got us out of there.”

“And I took out the exits, so if they don’t want to drown, they’ll leave,” Marceline says, “Most demons... like _Dad,_ can leave easy enough, they just can’t get anywhere without being summoned.”

“The rifts are gone out here, so it seems the shut-down command ran as well,” Bonnibel says, pleased, “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“So... you can come visit now?” Elise says; it feels too good to be true, after so long without seeing her daughter at all.

“Twice a year!” Marceline smiles widely.

“That’s- that’s so great, Marcy.” Elise wipes her eye, leaning into her daughter’s shoulder, “Can we go home? I am freezing my balls off.”

“Man I love knowing you as an adult.” Marceline laughs, floating up and gently placing her mother on her feet, holding her around the waist, “Okay, everybody look into that curve in the tunnel that’s kind of like a corner and cross your eyes.”

Bonnibel shines a light on the wall. After a few seconds of crossed eyes- which hurts her pounding head quite a bit, a shimmering portal opens, and a humanoid figure with an equine skull stands in the entrance, his hands on his hips.

“Will you look at that,” Death says, “you _all_ survived, too! I knew you could do it... I’ll let you both stay another 24 hours since this took up your visit, but then I’m coming back.”

He ushers them through, and Elise finds herself in front of her own little green-colored house, in her personal bubble of the afterlife.

“You know,” Death says, casually leaning against the wall as she opens her front door, “your daughter and I played together in a band once.”

“...”

“Yeah, yeah, pretty cool. Anyway see ya.” Death nods, disappearing in a red shimmer of light.

“...Marceline, you lead such an interesting life.”

“Heck yeah I do,” Marceline grins, her forked tongue snaking from between her teeth as she flashes the hand gesture for rock-and-roll.

Elise wants to sink into her nice couch cushions, but resists the urge, still damp from their adventure. 

Her daughter picks up her electric guitar where it’s still propped against the wall and starts to play, hovering around the living room as she shreds. She’s very talented.

“Okay, okay, we have 24 hours to jam,” Marceline says, “Mom, you and I can do some collabs, and oh- you can hear Bon Bon sing, she’s got such a nice voice...”

Elise yawns widely.

“We’ve had a long day, Marceline,” Bonnibel says, placing a gentle hand on her partner’s arm, “how about we all get some sleep, and we can play in the morning. I’ll make breakfast while you and your mom talk some more.”

Marceline looks at her mother, nodding at the sight of her undoubtedly sleepy-looking face, “...Okay, that’s a good plan.”

“You two take my bed,” Elise says, “I can take the couch.”

“No, Mom, it’s okay, I can float.” Marceline says, laying in the air above the coffee table, arms crossed over her chest like she’s been laid to rest, “I used to sleep like this all the time when I was alone, but Bonnie made me stop.”

“Yes, you got more than a little bruised back there, I think you should sleep in your own bed,” Bonnibel agrees, “your couch is very comfortable, I’ll be alright.”

Elise wonders how rude it is to make a princess sleep on her couch.

“Nah, she’s really fine,” Marceline assures her, reading her hesitation, “PB sleeps slumped over her desk a lot, so she can really crash anywhere.”

Bonnibel blushes, her mouth screwing up in annoyance, and Elise smiles fondly at this person Marceline has found.

Eager to go to bed and wake early so she can get rid of this tired fog and spend some quality time with her daughter, she reaches into the air and snags Marceline, pulling the weightless girl over. She hugs her tightly, kissing her cheek before stepping around the coffee table to do the same to Bonnibel.

Elise retrieves blankets and pillows from her linen closet, as well as spare pajamas, and takes a needed shower before heading to bed, falling quickly into a deep sleep. 

When she wakes in the middle of the night, she steps downstairs to make sure it wasn’t all a dream, checking on her daughter as she has many times before, as mothers do. 

Marceline is right where she left her, sleeping peacefully, floating right at the edge of the couch so she can hold her partner’s arm. 

All grown up, but still her sweet and loving little girl.

Elise heads back to bed, humming an old tune. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! If you have a moment to let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it. :)


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